Franklin Graham http://www.pfaw.org/
Tue, 20 Sep 2016 12:35:25 -0400Tue, 20 Sep 2016 12:37:06 -0400Putin's American Fans Cheer His Persecution Of Gays, Ignore His Persecution Of Christianshttp://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/putins-american-fans-cheer-his-persecution-gays-ignore-his-persecution-christians
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="600" height="399" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_images/putin9.jpg?1474389310" />
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<p>Pastors thrown in jail. Religious texts criminalized. Evangelism outlawed.</p>
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<p>These are all events that Religious Right activists&mdash; <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/5-years-after-passage-hate-crimes-law-religious-rights-dire-predictions-still-havent-come-tr" target="_hplink"> inaccurately </a> &mdash;predicted would happen during President Obama&rsquo;s time in office. But sadly, these are acts that are all too common around the world.</p>
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<p>Most recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin has stepped up his attacks on Christians who belong to denominations other than the Russian Orthodox Church, particularly Protestants, Mormons and Jehovah&rsquo;s Witnesses.</p>
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<p>Last month, <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/vladimir-putin-russia-foreign-religion-crackdown-498551" target="_hplink">Putin signed a law curtailing evangelism</a> under the guise of <a href="http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-yarovaya-law-religious-freedom-restrictions/27852531.html" target="_hplink">combating &ldquo;extremism,&rdquo;</a> a decision that is part of a broader trend of <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/04/24/russia-worst-human-rights-climate-post-soviet-era" target="_hplink">Putin&rsquo;s government</a>&nbsp;clamping down on dissidents, journalists, human rights activists and the LGBT community.</p>
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<p>Even before this new law came into effect, religious minorities in Russia and Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine faced not only&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2011/april/russian-evangelicals-leery-of-orthodox-church-/?mobile=false" target="_hplink">legal&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.newsweek.com/putin-cracks-down-christians-crimea-337412" target="_hplink">persecution</a> but also&nbsp;<a href="https://news.vice.com/video/secret-protestant-churches-in-donetsk-ukraines-religious-war" target="_hplink">violent attacks</a>, including <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/putin-persecuting-jews-tatars-and-christians-crimea-383792" target="_hplink">abductions and killings</a>, from government-backed militias. Since the law was signed, <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/vladimir-putin-russia-foreign-religion-crackdown-498551" target="_hplink"> state-sponsored attacks on religious minorities </a> have only increased.</p>
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<p>But none of this has stopped Putin&rsquo;s American fans from singing his praises, even while they claim that President Obama has made the U.S. dangerous for Christians.</p>
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<p>Donald Trump and Mike Pence have&nbsp;<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mike-pence-donald-trump-praises-putin_us_57d1d9bae4b00642712cab32" target="_hplink">enthusiastically</a> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-tashman/while-trump-champions-the_b_11698456.html" target="_hplink">praised</a> Putin as a brilliant and mighty trailblazer while at the same time accusing President Obama of hounding Christians at home. In fact, Trump has claimed that the U.S. government is specifically targeting him with a tax audit because he&rsquo;s &ldquo; <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/donald-trump-finds-latest-victim-anti-christian-persecution-donald-trump" target="_hplink"> a strong Christian </a> .&rdquo;</p>
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<p>U.S.-based Religious Right leaders, many of whom are now supporting Trump, have similarly spent years <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/globalizing-homophobia-part-2-today-whole-world-looking-russia" target="_hplink"> praising the Russian president </a> for supposedly championing Christianity and for leading an <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/religious-right-shares-trumps-putin-crush" target="_hplink">infamous crackdown on LGBT Russians</a>.</p>
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<p>Conservative religious leaders like <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/religious-right-shares-trumps-putin-crush" target="_hplink">Franklin Graham</a>, <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/brian-brown-tells-moscow-conference-americans-reject-new-and-false-vision-family" target="_hplink"> Brian Brown </a> and <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fischer-its-inexcusable-america-does-not-have-russian-style-anti-gay-laws" target="_hplink"> Bryan Fischer </a> have praised Putin for his attacks on LGBT rights. American LGBT rights opponents have descended on Russia in recent years to cheer on the government&rsquo;s growing repression of sexual minorities, including laws curbing gay adoption and curtailing free speech that supports LGBT rights. Religious Right leaders have called Putin a &ldquo;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fischer-praises-putin-calls-him-lion-christianity" target="_hplink">lion of Christianity</a>,&rdquo; &ldquo;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rohrer-russia-now-moral-leader-world-cracking-down-homosexuality" target="_hplink">the moral leader of the world</a>&rdquo; and the protector of &ldquo;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/religious-right-shares-trumps-putin-crush" target="_hplink">traditional Christianity</a>.&rdquo;</p>
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<p>Televangelist Rick Joyner recently said that &ldquo;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rick-joyner-there-much-more-freedom-religion-russia-there-america" target="_hplink">there is much more freedom of religion in Russia than there is in America</a>,&rdquo; where &ldquo;we no longer have freedom of speech,&rdquo; and radio host Rick Wiles called Putin an <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rick-wiles-gay-rights-will-turn-america-antichrist-kingdom-spark-nuclear-attack" target="_hplink"> instrument</a>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rick-wiles-god-putin-s-side-not-america-s-mohammed-president" target="_hplink">of</a> <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/jim-bakker-satan-using-fire-alarms-silence-me" target="_hplink">God</a> sent to punish &ldquo;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rick-wiles-god-will-punish-united-gay-states-america" target="_hplink">the United Gay States of America</a>.&rdquo;</p>
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<p>In reality, Putin&rsquo;s government has done the very thing that right-wing activists falsely accuse President Obama of doing: arresting Christians, threatening churches and <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/religious-right-hero-vladimir-putin-okays-polygamy-sharia-law" target="_hplink"> permitting Sharia law </a> in majority-Muslim areas.</p>
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<p>But it is Obama they falsely charge with being an enemy of religious liberty, and Putin they shower with praise in spite of his well-documented attacks on freedom.</p>
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<p>The admiration for Putin from this segment of the Religious Right reveals an ugly reality behind their claims of religious oppression at the hands of the LGBT rights movement. For these activists, it seems, the persecution of LGBT people is actually more important than preserving true religious freedom, even when the welfare and freedoms of other Christians are at stake.</p>
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<p><em>(<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-tashman/putins-american-fans-chee_b_12102312.html">This post also appears on the Huffington Post</a>).</em></p>
Brian TashmanC4Franklin Graham Rick JoynerRick WilesRussiaVladimir PutinDonald TrumpFighting the RightBrian BrownBryan Fischer79621Tue, 20 Sep 2016 11:35:25 -0500Franklin Graham The Religious Right Shares Trump's Putin Crushhttp://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/religious-right-shares-trumps-putin-crush
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="390" height="250" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_rww/puttin_a.jpg?1392134228" />
<p>One of the notable developments in right-wing-watching in recent years has been <a href="http://www.pfaw.org/rww-in-focus/globalizing-homophobia-how-american-right-supports-and-defends-russia-s-anti-gay-crackd?_ga=1.209077530.964815927.1431356037"> how enthusiastically many Religious Right leaders have embraced Russia&rsquo;s anti-democratic president</a>, former KGB official Vladimir Putin. It seems even more remarkable that the Republican Party&rsquo;s presidential nominee has been <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/trump-and-rights-crush-putin">lavishing praise</a> on Putin even as Russia maneuvers to diminish America&rsquo;s influence in the world.</p>
<p>As president, Putin has <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/04/24/russia-worst-human-rights-climate-post-soviet-era">consolidated his power</a> through attacks on the independent media, the persecution of political opponents, and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/10/01/the-christian-zeal-behind-russias-war-in-syria/">restrictions on civil society</a>. He has annexed Crimea, supported violent separatists in Ukraine, fostered anti-democratic right-wing forces in Europe, and made the weakening of NATO a major strategic imperative.</p>
<p>None of that has kept Donald Trump from praising Putin and welcoming Putin&rsquo;s praise for him. In <a href="http://time.com/4483355/commander-chief-forum-clinton-trump-intrepid/">Wednesday night&rsquo;s forum on national security issues</a>, Trump said, &ldquo;I think I would have a very, very good relationship with Putin. And I think I would have a very, very good relationship with Russia.&rdquo; When asked about some of Putin&rsquo;s troubling actions, Trump didn&rsquo;t criticize the Russian president, suggesting instead that he could &ldquo;start naming some of the things that President Obama does at the same time.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Trump went on to praise Putin&rsquo;s leadership and pooh-pooh concerns about Putin&rsquo;s authoritarianism: &ldquo;I mean, you can say, oh, isn&rsquo;t that a terrible thing&mdash;the man has very strong control over a country.&rdquo; Then on Thursday, Trump <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/09/08/trump-attacks-u-s-foreign-policy-political-press-corps-in-state-owned-russian-television-network/?postshare=7931473386822119&tid=ss_tw-bottom"> appeared on RT</a>, a network operated by the Russian government, to slam American media and U.S. foreign policy and dismiss as &ldquo;unlikely&rdquo; the idea that the Russian government was involved in hacking the DNC&rsquo;s email as <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/27/us/politics/spy-agency-consensus-grows-that-russia-hacked-dnc.html">American intelligence agencies believe</a>.</p>
<p>Some conservatives have criticized Putin&rsquo;s anti-democratic actions and strategic aims, and some Republicans were not happy about Trump&rsquo;s recent remarks. But his running mate <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/08/politics/mike-pence-on-donald-trump-vladimir-putin/index.html">Mike Pence said it is &ldquo;inarguable&rdquo;</a> that Putin is a stronger leader than President Obama. Republican Rep. Steve King of Iowa, a Trump supporter, told CNN that Putin is a better leader for Russia than President Obama has been for the U.S., praising the increase in &ldquo;hyper-nationalism&rdquo; in Russia. Conspiracy-theory-promoting radio host Alex Jones, whose &ldquo;amazing&rdquo; reputation Trump has praised <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/infowars-candidate-how-donald-trump-broadcasting-conservative-misinformation"> while appearing on his show </a> , has expressed his admiration for Putin&rsquo;s promotion of homeschooling and &ldquo;masculine men.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Trump will find himself in friendly company at this weekend&rsquo;s <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/donald-trumps-extremist-allies-whos-who-values-voter-summit-2016">Values Voter Summit</a>, an annual political gathering for the Religious Right. As Right Wing Watch has documented extensively, many U.S. religious conservatives have been cheerleaders for Putin because of his government&rsquo;s anti-gay policies and his public support for &ldquo;traditional values&rdquo; and &ldquo;Christian civilization.&rdquo; Brian Brown, who heads both the National Organization for Marriage and the World Congress of Families, <a href="http://www.pfaw.org/rww-in-focus/globalizing-homophobia-how-american-right-supports-and-defends-russia-s-anti-gay-crackd"> actually traveled to Russia </a> a few years ago to testify on behalf of anti-gay legislation there.</p>
<p>As Right Wing Watch <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/religious-right-hero-vladimir-putin-okays-polygamy-sharia-law">noted last year</a>:</p>
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<p>Evangelist Franklin Graham <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-endorses-vladimir-putins-anti-gay-crackdown">hailed Putin as a hero</a> for taking &ldquo;a stand to protect his nation&rsquo;s children from the damaging effects of any gay and lesbian agenda&rdquo; even as &ldquo;America&rsquo;s own morality has fallen so far on this issue&rdquo;; Bryan Fischer called Putin a &ldquo;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fischer-praises-putin-calls-him-lion-christianity">lion of Christianity</a>&rdquo; and <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fischer-russias-anti-gay-law-exactly-sort-public-policy-weve-been-advocating">called</a> <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fischer-its-inexcusable-america-does-not-have-russian-style-anti-gay-laws">upon</a> U.S. lawmakers to adopt similar speech prohibitions; Matt Barber marveled that Putin was able to &ldquo;<a href="http://www.wnd.com/2013/12/americas-chief-export-immorality/">out-Christian our once-Christian nation</a>&rdquo;; Sam Rohrer called Putin &ldquo;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rohrer-russia-now-moral-leader-world-cracking-down-homosexuality">the moral leader of the world</a>&rdquo;; Scott Lively&nbsp;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/russian-anti-lgbt-crackdown-exporting-homophobic-violence-throughout-region-experts-warn">lavished</a>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/scott-lively-urges-conservatives-stand-putin-against-new-world-order">praise</a>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/lively-gay-people-behind-anti-gay-violence-russia">on</a> <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/lively-defends-anti-gay-criminalization-laws-gay-movement-has-brought-themselves">Putin</a> for &ldquo; <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/lively-obama-antichrist-working-satanic-gays-bring-about-apocalypse"> championing traditional marriage and Christian values </a> &rdquo;; and Rush Limbaugh <a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/08/07/rush-says-russias-ban-on-gay-olympians-is-key-e/195273">applauded Putin</a> for stopping &ldquo;a full-frontal assault on what has always been considered normalcy.&rdquo;</p>
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<p>In fact, Franklin Graham went to Russia just last fall, where he&nbsp;<a href="http://www.politicalresearch.org/2016/01/07/franklin-graham-falwell-prodigy-putin-lover-and-trump-fan/">met with Putin</a>, <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-praises-gay-propaganda-law-critizes-us-secularism-russia-visit">slammed</a> President Obama for supporting &ldquo;policies that contradict the teachings of God&rdquo; and praised the Russian president for &ldquo;protecting Russian young people against homosexual propaganda.&rdquo; Graham reportedly said, &ldquo;I call for prayers for the president of Russia, who is protecting traditional Christianity.&rdquo; Graham also praised Russian involvement in Syria, which the Russian Orthodox Church has called a &ldquo;holy battle.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Putin has developed a mutually beneficial partnership with the Russian Orthodox Church, promoting Orthodoxy as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/10/01/the-christian-zeal-behind-russias-war-in-syria/"> a crucial element of Russian nationalism </a> and a vehicle for extending Russian power and undercutting U.S. influence. Some American Religious Right leaders are taken with Putin&rsquo;s promotion of a Christian state; the director of last year&rsquo;s World Congress of Families summit, Janice Shaw Crouse, <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/concerned-women-defends-pussy-riot-convictions">embraced</a> the blasphemy-law prosecution and jail sentences given to members of the band Pussy Riot for protesting in a cathedral.</p>
<p>While many Religious Right leaders suggest that President Obama is a secret Muslim who wants to replace the Constitution with Sharia law and say marriage equality will open the door to polygamy, we haven&rsquo;t heard them objecting to Putin and his allies actually <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/religious-right-hero-vladimir-putin-okays-polygamy-sharia-law"> allowing polygamy and the imposition of Sharia in Chechnya</a>. Similarly, those who cry that LGBT equality represents a dire threat to religious freedom have not raised a big fuss about a new law signed by Putin this summer that <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/religious-right-hero-vladimir-putin-cracks-down-religious-liberty-russia"> severely restricts the religious freedom </a> of faiths other than the Russian Orthodox Church. Putin has also enacted <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2016/june/no-evangelizing-outside-of-church-russia-proposes.html">restrictions on evangelism</a> and backed separatist militias that <a href="https://news.vice.com/video/secret-protestant-churches-in-donetsk-ukraines-religious-war">violently attack Ukrainian Protestants</a>.</p>
<p>Perhaps Putin&rsquo;s strategic partnership with the Orthodox Church has inspired Trump&rsquo;s promise to conservative evangelical leaders that he will make Christianity more politically powerful by eliminating legal restrictions on electoral politicking by churches. So far, it has worked for him, helping him line up support from the leaders of the Values Voter Summit.</p>
Peter MontgomeryAmerican Family Association American Pastors NetworkC4Election 2016Franklin Graham Janice Shaw CrouseMatt Barber Mike Pence National Organization for MarriageRush Limbaugh RussiaSam RohrerScott LivelySteve King Values Voter SummitValues Voter Summit 2016World Congress of Families Donald TrumpFighting the RightBrian BrownBryan Fischer79086Fri, 09 Sep 2016 10:23:47 -0500Franklin Graham Right Wing Round-Up - 8/10/16http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/right-wing-round-81016
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="390" height="250" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_rww/roundup_a.jpg?1383228480" />
<ul> <li> <a href="http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/beware-the-gender-unicorn-franklin-graham-takes-aim-at-the-transgender">Rob Boston @ Wall of Separation</a>: Beware The Gender Unicorn: Franklin Graham Takes Aim At The Transgender Community.</li> <p> <li> <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/christie-aides-text-messages-implicate-senior-staff-in-bridgegate-controversy-4f237b1f9f24#.d8j1dau0k">Adam Peck @ Think Progress</a>:&nbsp;Texts Between Christie Senior Staff Show The Governor Lied About Bridgegate.</li> <p> <li> <a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/08/10/just-trump-speaks-anti-lgbt-extremists-wash-post-portrays-him-lgbt-ally/212310">Rachel Percelay @ Media Matters</a>:&nbsp;Just Before Trump Speaks With Anti-LGBT Extremists, Wash Post. Portrays Him As An LGBT Ally.</li> <p> <li> <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/08/10/long-time-militia-leader-mike-vanderboegh-has-died">Bill Morlin @ Hatewatch</a>: Long-time Militia Leader Mike Vanderboegh Has Died.</li> <p> <li> <a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/08/09/radicals-with-badges-mark-potok-explains-why-renegade-sheriffs-are-a-growing-threat-in-the-u-s/">Amanda Marcotte @ Salon</a>:&nbsp;Radicals with badges: Mark Potok explains why renegade sheriffs are a growing threat in the U.S.</li> <p> <li> <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/08/evangelical-christians-trump-bill-clinton-apology/495224/?utm_source=atlfb">Jonathan Merritt @ The Atlantic</a>:&nbsp;Trump-Loving Christians Owe Bill Clinton an Apology.</li></ul>
Kyle MantylaFranklin Graham Round-Up77766Wed, 10 Aug 2016 16:35:37 -0500Franklin Graham Right Wing Bonus Tracks - 7/19/16http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/right-wing-bonus-tracks-71916
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="390" height="250" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_rww/Bonus_Trax2.jpg?1400622005" />
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There are <a href="http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/roger-ailes-fox-news-out-1201817638/">conflicting</a> <a href="http://time.com/4411018/roger-ailes-fox-news-rupert-murdoch/">reports</a> on whether Fox News chairman Roger Ailes has been fired.&nbsp;</li>
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There <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jul/18/donald-trump/trump-says-without-proof-he-recommended-ohio-gop-c/">were</a> <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jul/19/jeff-sessions/senator-jeff-sessions-says-about-350000-people-suc/">a</a> <a href="http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2016/jul/19/antonio-sabato-jr/obama-not-absolutely-muslim-rnc-speaker-claims/">whole</a> <a href="http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2016/jul/18/rudy-giuliani/rudy-giuliani-wrongly-says-hillary-clinton-open-bo/">lot</a> <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jul/18/mark-geist/stand-down-story-ignores-critical-facts-about-effo/">of</a> <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jul/18/jeff-sessions/mostly-false-jeff-sessions-says-clinton-champion-g/">lies</a> at last night&rsquo;s GOP convention.&nbsp;</li>
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Franklin Graham <a href="http://www.charismanews.com/culture/58699-franklin-graham-we-re-on-the-precipice-of-anarchy">warns</a> that &ldquo;our country is beginning to implode&rdquo; as we are &ldquo;on the precipice of anarchy.&rdquo;&nbsp;</li>
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Jason Benham is <a href="http://cnsnews.com/news/article/eric-scheiner/benham-bros-politics-god-almighty-answer#.V45w-nR_dX8.twitter">thrilled</a> with the GOP platform: &ldquo;What God wants is for us to join his side, and when we looked at the Republican Party platform, you know it&rsquo;s getting closer to being on God&rsquo;s side.&rdquo;&nbsp;</li>
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Eric Metaxas <a href="http://www.charismanews.com/politics/elections/58689-eric-metaxas-if-you-still-oppose-trump-you-better-know-what-that-means">hails</a> Donald Trump: &ldquo;I think he loves America and I don&rsquo;t think he wants to line his own pockets.&rdquo;&nbsp;</li>
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Dan Popp, on the other hand, <a href="http://barbwire.com/2016/07/19/bad-kings-trump-hillary-gods-judgment/">says</a> that &ldquo;we&rsquo;ll know by the end of July whether God has finally abandoned us to our own devices. If it&rsquo;s between Hillary and Trump, we&rsquo;ll know that divine patience has run out.&rdquo;</li>
</ul>
Brian TashmanC4Franklin Graham Jason BenhamLeftoversEric MetaxasFighting the Right76776Tue, 19 Jul 2016 17:25:29 -0500Franklin Graham Right Wing Round-Up - 7/15/16http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/right-wing-round-71516
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="481" height="455" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_rww/roundup_A_.jpg?1383082488" />
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<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-b-keegan/is-trump-going-to-run-the_b_11021186.html">Michael Keegan @ Huffington Post</a>: Is Trump Going To Run The Country The Way He&rsquo;s Running This Convention?</li>
</ul>
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<a href="http://www.joemygod.com/2016/07/15/tebow-ii-trump-says-franklin-graham-will-speak-at-convention-which-comes-as-news-to-franklin-graham/">Joe.My.God</a>: Trump Says Franklin Graham Will Speak At Convention Which Comes As News To Franklin Graham</li>
</ul>
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<a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2016/07/ivanka-trumps-rabbi-pulls-out-of-the-rnc-after-hed-planned-to-lead-a-prayer-against-bigotry/">Brad Reed @ Raw Story</a>: Ivanka Trump&rsquo;s rabbi pulls out of the RNC &mdash; after he&rsquo;d planned to lead a prayer against bigotry</li>
</ul>
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<a href="Gingrich:%20We%20Should%20‘Test%20Every%20Person%20Here%20Who%20Is%20of%20a%20Muslim%20Background’">Josh Feldman @ Mediaite</a>: Gingrich: We Should &lsquo;Test Every Person Here Who Is of a Muslim Background&rsquo;</li>
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<a href="http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/pence-becomes-the-most-far-right-running-mate-modern-history">Steve Benen @ MaddowBlog</a>:&nbsp;Pence becomes the most far-right running mate in modern history</li>
</ul>
Miranda BlueC4Franklin Graham Mike Pence Newt Gingrich Donald TrumpFighting the Right76621Fri, 15 Jul 2016 16:30:55 -0500Franklin Graham Religious Right Hero Vladimir Putin Cracks Down On Religious Liberty In Russiahttp://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/religious-right-hero-vladimir-putin-cracks-down-religious-liberty-russia
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="416" height="416" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_images/vladimir-putin_416x416.jpg?1438100197" />
<p>For years, American Religious Right activists have&nbsp;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/globalizing-homophobia-part-2-today-whole-world-looking-russia">lavished</a> <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/religious-right-hero-vladimir-putin-okays-polygamy-sharia-law">praise</a> on Russian President Vladimir Putin, praising him as a culturally conservative bulwark against the values of the decadent West thanks to his crackdowns on LGBT rights, in particular laws curbing adoption and free speech.</p>
<p>Religious Right leaders including&nbsp;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-praises-gay-propaganda-law-critizes-us-secularism-russia-visit">Franklin Graham</a> and <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/brian-brown-tells-moscow-conference-americans-reject-new-and-false-vision-family">Brian Brown</a> have gone to Russia to hail Putin&rsquo;s resistance to LGBT equality, while keeping quiet about how the Russian government has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/04/24/russia-worst-human-rights-climate-post-soviet-era">stifled human rights</a>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/world/europe/24church.html?_r=0">including the rights of Protestants</a>, <a href="https://news.vice.com/video/secret-protestant-churches-in-donetsk-ukraines-religious-war"> sponsored militias that violently target Protestants in Ukraine </a> and <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/religious-right-hero-vladimir-putin-okays-polygamy-sharia-law"> allowed Sharia law to be practiced in Chechnya</a>. At the same time, these Religious Right activists level bogus charges against President Obama and other U.S. officials whom they accuse of quashing religious freedom in the U.S.</p>
<p>Now, in a move that will likely be greeted with silence by Putin&rsquo;s American allies, the Russian president has <a href="http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-yarovaya-law-religious-freedom-restrictions/27852531.html">signed</a> a counterterrorism law that watchdog groups warn will stifle religious liberties. One Russian Protestant leader said that the law &ldquo;creates the basis for mass persecution&rdquo; of Christians who don&rsquo;t belong to the Russian Orthodox Church by making it a crime to evangelize unless they receive &ldquo;a special permit&rdquo; from the government.</p>
<p>The Religious Right claims that because President Obama supports LGBT rights, he is hostile to religious liberty. At the same time, many of the same activists seem content to ignore real religious freedom violations at the hands of Putin simply because he shares their anti-LGBT views.</p>
<p>Mike Eckel <a href="http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-yarovaya-law-religious-freedom-restrictions/27852531.html">reports</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
The legislation, signed into law earlier this month by Russian President Vladimir Putin, had already drawn scorn from critics in and outside of Russia.<br />
<br />
Known as the "Yarovaya Law," the measure includes new police and counterterrorism measures that directly echo the sweeping powers wielded by the KGB to stifle dissent and repress opposition activists throughout the Soviet era.<br />
<br />
But one largely overlooked aspect of the law is garnering new scrutiny and worry: tight restrictions on the activities of religious groups, particularly smaller denominations.<br />
<br />
The new restrictions "will make it easier for Russian authorities to repress religious communities, stifle peaceful dissent, and detain and imprison people," said Thomas J. Reese, who heads the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a federal government agency that monitors religious expression around the world.<br />
<br />
"Neither these measures nor the currently existing antiextremism law meet international human rights and religious freedom standards," he said in statement released last week.<br />
<br />
&hellip;<br />
<br />
For religious groups, the new law requires people to get official permits through a registered religious group and bars things like prayer meetings from taking place anywhere except for officially recognized religious buildings. That would potentially forbid house churches.<br />
<br />
Members of a religious group would also potentially be barred from e-mailing invitations to people interested in services, according to Christianity Today, a web-based news service focused on religious issues.<br />
<br />
Violators could be fined, or potentially expelled from Russia.<br />
<br />
&hellip;<br />
<br />
Sergei Ryakhovsky, a Pentecostal church leader and co-head of an organization of Protestant churches in Russia, said in an open letter co-signed by him that the law contradicted the Russian Constitution.<br />
<br />
"The obligation on every believer to have a special permit to spread his or her beliefs, as well as hand out religious literature and material outside of places of worship and used structures, is not only absurd and offensive, but also creates the basis for mass persecution of believers for violating these provisions," said the letter, which was posted on the Russian-language religious website Portal-Credo.<br />
<br />
"This law brings us back to a shameful past," it said.</blockquote>
Brian TashmanC4Franklin Graham RussiaVladimir PutinFighting the RightBrian Brown76441Wed, 13 Jul 2016 11:20:34 -0500Franklin Graham Franklin Graham: Gays And Lesbians Leading A Wicked, Evil Agenda Taking America Downhttp://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-gays-and-lesbians-leading-wicked-evil-agenda-taking-america-down
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="720" height="366" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_images/franklin-graham.jpg?1436365948" />
<p>In a podcast posted <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/05/12/should-christians-vote-for-donald-trump.html">yesterday</a>, Fox News&rsquo; Todd Starnes spoke with Franklin Graham about the upcoming election and the fight over North Carolina&rsquo;s recently enacted anti-LGBT law, with Graham lamenting that &ldquo;President Obama sold himself completely to the gay and lesbian community.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Graham told Starnes that Obama is pushing &ldquo;dangerous&rdquo; nondiscrimination measures that will allow &ldquo;sexually perverted people to take advantage of women,&rdquo; and now states like North Carolina are facing pressure from &ldquo;a very wicked agenda within the Obama administration.&rdquo;</p>
<p>America, according to Graham, is now facing a moral 9/11.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The country is imploding,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We are seeing a moral implosion. Just like we saw the World Trade Center on 9/11 when the planes hit the tower, they imploded, they fell from within, and this is what&rsquo;s happening to our country, we&rsquo;re falling within. Our foundations have been weakened by immorality and it&rsquo;s beginning to crumble.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I want the school boards of America in the hands of evangelical Christians within the next four to six years,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And it can happen and that will have a huge impact because so many school districts now are controlled by wicked, evil people, and the gays and lesbians, and I keep bringing their name up, but they are at the forefront of this attack against Christianity in America.&rdquo;</p>
<p align="center"><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/263962520&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe></p>
<p>While Graham said that he is not endorsing any candidates, he made it clear which candidates he doesn&rsquo;t want people to support: the communist progressives.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The problem we have in our country today,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;is we have allowed the progressives and these people to send secularism &mdash; to take God out of our government. When I was growing we were afraid of the Red Threat, that the Russians were coming, and when the Berlin Wall came down we all sighed a sigh of relief. But secularism began to slowly come into government and secularism is the same as communism, it&rsquo;s godless, and we have allowed godless secularism to take control of Washington, state houses, mayors, the local level, our schools, we have taken God out of our schools.&rdquo;</p>
<p>He said that in some races, conservatives &ldquo;may have to hold your nose&rdquo; while voting for a certain candidate but that they should still vote, a likely nod to Donald Trump&rsquo;s candidacy.</p>
<p align="center"><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/263962650&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe></p>
Brian TashmanC4Franklin Graham Todd StarnesFighting the Right73736Fri, 13 May 2016 11:25:17 -0500Franklin Graham Franklin Graham: Proposed Stonewall Monument Will Be 'A Monument To Sin'http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-proposed-stonewall-monument-will-be-monument-sin
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="720" height="366" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_images/franklin-graham.jpg?1436365948" />
<p>Evangelist Franklin Graham, who is currently traveling the country with his supposedly nonpartisan &ldquo;Decision America&rdquo; tour, appears to be fixated on the <a href="http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2016/02/08/franklin-graham-same-sex-marriage-a-major-failure-of-our-nation/">purported</a> <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-christians-must-take-over-every-mayorship-country-stop-evil-lgbt-rights">dangers</a> of LGBT rights, warning that the movement is destroying everything from the <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-warns-christians-keep-gays-away-their-kids-and-churches">church</a> to <a href="http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2016/02/08/franklin-graham-same-sex-marriage-a-major-failure-of-our-nation/">marriage</a> to the <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-boycotts-girl-scouts-cookies-part-anti-lgbt-crusade">Girl Scouts</a>.</p>
<p>Continuing that trend, the conservative preacher took to his Facebook page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FranklinGraham/posts/1152283384827841">today</a> to criticize <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-poised-to-create-first-monument-to-gay-rights/2016/05/03/0811810e-1154-11e6-93ae-50921721165d_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_stonewall-620pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory">reports</a> that President Obama is planning to erect the first national monument to the gay rights movement near the site of the Stonewall protests in New York City, calling the planned monument &ldquo;a monument to sin.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t believe how far our country has digressed,&rdquo; he wrote. &ldquo;I hope that the president will reconsider. Flaunting sin is a dangerous move.&rdquo;</p>
<p align="center"><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="728" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FFranklinGraham%2Fposts%2F1152283384827841&width=500" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="500"></iframe></p>
Brian TashmanAnti-GayC4Franklin Graham Fighting the Right73356Fri, 06 May 2016 11:05:20 -0500Franklin Graham Paranoia-Rama: Sarah Palin Versus Science, Franklin Graham's Warning And The Looming Gay Civil Warhttp://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/paranoia-rama-sarah-palin-versus-science-franklin-grahams-warning-and-looming-gay-civil-war
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="810" height="607" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_images/Palin_Graham_t810.jpg?1460751855" />
<p><em>RWW&rsquo;s <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/category/topics/paranoia-rama">Paranoia-Rama</a> takes a look at five of the week&rsquo;s most absurd conspiracy theories from the Right.</em></p>
<p>While Sarah Palin concentrates on fighting the supposed myth of climate change, Franklin Graham and other conservatives are warning about the imminent dangers of LGBT rights.</p>
<p><strong>5) Sarah Palin Debunks Climate Science</strong></p>
<p>Noted climate science expert Sarah Palin was invited to publicize the recent film &ldquo;Climate Hustle,&rdquo; which, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/apr/15/sarah-palin-bill-nye-climate-change-hustle-film">according to the Guardian</a>, &ldquo;dismisses global warming as an excuse for government takeover and makes the outrageously false claim that rising carbon emissions are beneficial.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Anyone with doubts about the film&rsquo;s claims can rest assured that Palin has attested to its scientific accuracy. The former half-term Alaska governor promoted the film at an event hosted by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, who just so happens to chair the House committee on science, space and technology.</p>
<blockquote>
The former vice-presidential nominee admitted she did not believe scientists about anything any more &ndash; and appealed to presidential contenders to intervene, somehow.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;The science is kind of getting thrown out of the window in discussions about changes in the weather,&rdquo; Palin said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s something that our candidates should be talking about and giving us their view on and hopefully acknowledging that it needs to become in the science community less political. Otherwise, it leads us to believe that so many things then coming from the scientists could be bogus. If this is bogus, what else are they trying to tell us and control us around?&rdquo;<br />
<br />
To Palin&rsquo;s mind, efforts by government, business leaders, campaigners &ndash; and yes, scientists like Nye &ndash; to fight climate change were a mere smokescreen for a huge power grab. She did not say by whom.</blockquote>
<p>Palin said that climate science experts have a &ldquo;political,&rdquo; &ldquo;predetermined agenda&rdquo; and &ldquo;have studied the data that they are erroneously delivering to the public to make us think that we can somehow change the weather and how they do that is to grow government and allow the government to have more control over us, our homes, our businesses, our families, our lives, and it&rsquo;s quite unfortunate because these people must be purposely doing this, right?&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Bill Nye is as much a scientist as I am,&rdquo; she declared.</p>
<p><strong>4) Gay Civil War</strong></p>
<p>Conservative blogger Michael Ware is very concerned about the prospect of a coming civil war.</p>
<p>And the <a href="http://constitution.com/go-just-pouting/">LGBT rights movement is to blame</a>.</p>
<p>Ware writes that just as slavery was the &ldquo;wedge&rdquo; that kept &ldquo;pushing the North and South apart,&rdquo; now America is divided by &ldquo;the economic and political bullying&rdquo; of states that are &ldquo;unwilling to give these perverse people the legal club with which to beat the church into submission.&rdquo;</p>
<p>What we have to ask is: is this a replay of the events that led to that bloody conflict fought between Americans from 1861-1865? Is the Unitarian playbook now being used by the Homosexual agenda to finish the destruction they started in the Church?</p>
<blockquote>
Or is it just coincidence that the same things are being said about the church? Are these people just pouting or are they preparing to devour our rights?<br />
<br />
It sure looks as if the same people are again the target of their vile threatening. We must pray for deliverance from such a situation, and from such a beast.</blockquote>
<p><strong>3) Gay Socialism</strong></p>
<p>While Ware thinks that the gay rights movement is leading to war, WorldNetDaily columnist Erik Rush believes that the movement is part of a gradual effort to introduce socialism.</p>
<p>He <a href="http://www.wnd.com/2016/04/what-really-drives-the-lgbt-agenda/">writes this week</a> that liberals are only &ldquo;concerned about the supposed rights of homosexuals, transvestites and assorted sexual deviants&rdquo; because they are determined to establish a &ldquo;socialist state,&rdquo; and can only do so by &ldquo;disenfranchising&rdquo; anyone who gets in their way. LGBT equality, he writes, &ldquo;negates the civil liberties of the majority&rdquo; and &ldquo;opens the door to ever-increasing institutional oppression of the majority faction.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Once this has been accomplished, not only does the doctrine of the majority no longer effectively supersede the will of the State, but the State is now free to impose secular doctrines, laws and regulations that are more conducive to state control and manipulation of the populace in every area of their lives,&rdquo; Rush writes. &ldquo;Thus, it becomes clear that the &lsquo;struggle for LGBT rights&rsquo; in America is and has always been nothing more than a pretext for the complete disenfranchisement of Christians.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>2) Franklin Graham&rsquo;s Diagnosis </strong></p>
<p>Franklin Graham took his Decision America tour to Montgomery, Alabama, this week, where he told the crowd that the devil is behind the separation of church and state &ldquo;lie&rdquo; and that communist secularism is taking control of America.</p>
<p>The Southern Poverty Law Center <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/04/14/reverend-franklin-graham-denounces-same-sex-marriage-secularism-montgomery-capitol-steps">reports</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
&ldquo;When I think of the sins of this country, well, where do you begin to list them? Abortion, the murder of children in a mother's womb. Millions. Same sex marriage, the flaunting and celebrating of this sin.&rdquo;<br />
<br />
Drawing on his childhood memories of the Cold War, Graham argued that &ldquo;enemies&rdquo; are engaged in warfare for the spiritual salvation of the United States.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;As the [Berlin] wall came down, secularism began to creep into Washington. It crept into our universities, into our state capitols, it got into our city government. There&rsquo;s no difference between secularism and communism. They&rsquo;re both godless. Both are godless. And godless secularism is now taking control of our governments.&rdquo;<br />
<br />
&hellip;<br />
<br />
&ldquo;You say, but Franklin, how about separation of church and state? What about it? Let me tell you that&rsquo;s just a lie that the enemy uses to try to keep your mouth shut.&rdquo;</blockquote>
<p><strong>1) The Truth About Glenn Beck Finally Comes Out</strong></p>
<p>Well, here&rsquo;s something different. Rather than a conspiracy theory <em>from </em>Glenn Beck, <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/alex-jones-blasts-psychotic-cult-leader-glenn-beck">it&rsquo;s a conspiracy theory <em>about </em>Glenn Beck</a>.</p>
<p>In a long rant that has something to do with aspartame, Alex Jones says that Beck &ldquo;was hired right before 9/11 and gotten ready to come out to be the synthetic Alex Jones,&rdquo; telling InfoWars viewers that Beck &ldquo;watched weeks of my videos and shows&rdquo; and was told, &ldquo;Take this and mix it with Oprah.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a mixture of Oprah Winfrey and Alex Jones, all in a big, weird doughboy&rsquo;s body,&rdquo; Jones said. &ldquo;A cult leader. A Nellie high priest.&rdquo;</p>
<p align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e-_2GdUcHbw?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></p>
Brian TashmanAlex JonesC4Franklin Graham Paranoia-RamaSarah Palin Erik RushGlenn BeckFighting the Right72351Fri, 15 Apr 2016 15:25:39 -0500Franklin Graham Franklin Graham: Christians Must Vote, Even If Only For The Lesser Of Two Heathenshttp://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-christians-must-vote-even-if-only-lesser-two-heathens
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="390" height="250" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_rww/Franklin%20Graham.jpg?1426176244" />
<p><span style="line-height: 20.4px;">In an </span><a href="http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2016/March/Franklin-Graham-Like-Nehemiah-We-Must-Cry-Out-to-God" style="line-height: 20.4px;">interview</a><span style="line-height: 20.4px;"> with the Christian Broadcasting Network this week, right-wing evangelist </span><a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/category/people/franklin-graham" style="line-height: 20.4px;">Franklin Graham</a><span style="line-height: 20.4px;"> declared that Christians have a duty to vote even if their options do not include a candidate with a strong biblical worldview:</span></p>
<p>"And I'm not going to tell people who to vote for, I'm not going to do that -- let God tell you who to vote for," he said. "You may have to hold your nose, you may have to decide which is the least heathen of the two heathen."</p>
<p>Graham, who is travelling across the country for his <a href="https://decisionamericatour.com/" target="_blank">Decision America</a> tour, told CBN that he has no faith in either political party and that he <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FranklinGraham/posts/1061896050533242">left the Republican Party</a> after congressional Republicans failed to defund Planned Parenthood. But he said America is at a &ldquo;moral tipping point&rdquo; and he denounced voices from &ldquo;a left movement within the evangelical community&rdquo; who he said were telling people not to vote if a particular candidate, seemingly a reference to Donald Trump, is the GOP nominee.</p>
<p>The goal of his tour, he said, is to encourage Christians to run for public office and vote for candidates who uphold biblical principles. The six-part <a href="https://decisionamericatour.com/pledge/">pledge</a> he wrote&nbsp;asks voters to promise to pray for the country and to vote in every election &ndash; &ldquo;supporting, where possible, candidates who uphold biblical principles.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Signers of Graham&rsquo;s pledge also commit to &ldquo;prayerfully consider running for office,&rdquo; even though Graham told CBN that he has never considered doing so himself. He thinks he can do more, he said, by challenging the church and challenging Christians to get out and vote.</p>
<p>On previous stops on his Decision America tour this year, Graham has said that <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-christians-must-take-over-every-mayorship-country-stop-evil-lgbt-rights">if every city in America had a Christian mayor</a> we wouldn&rsquo;t have &ldquo;evil&rdquo; and &ldquo;wicked&rdquo; laws that protect LGBT people from discrimination, and that there is <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-only-one-election-left-save-america-godless-secularists">&ldquo;only one election left&rdquo; to save America</a> from godless secularism. In the midst of it all he found time to <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-boycotts-girl-scouts-cookies-part-anti-lgbt-crusade">announce his support</a> for a <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/danthropology/2016/03/girl-scouts-raise-record-amount-of-money-after-catholic-church-attacks-them/">spectacularly unsuccessful boycott</a> of Girl Scout Cookies called by St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson.&nbsp;</p>
<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="180" src="http://cbn.com/tv/embedplayernews.aspx?bcid=4803749697001" width="320"></iframe></p>
Peter MontgomeryElection 2016; Church-StateFranklin Graham Christian Broadcasting NetworkFighting the Right70921Fri, 18 Mar 2016 14:03:49 -0500Franklin Graham Franklin Graham: US In Trouble For Embracing Godless Secularismhttp://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-us-trouble-embracing-godless-secularism
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="390" height="250" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_rww/Franklin%20Graham.jpg?1426176244" />
<p><span style="line-height: 20.4px;">While political activists gathered outside Washington D.C. last Saturday for the final day of the Conservative Political Action Conference, a group of Religious Right activists converged in Orlando for </span><a href="http://freedomfederation.org/content/The_Awakening" style="line-height: 20.4px;">&ldquo;The Awakening,&rdquo;</a><span style="line-height: 20.4px;"> an annual conference sponsored by </span><a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/category/organizations/liberty-counsel" style="line-height: 20.4px;">Liberty Counsel</a><span style="line-height: 20.4px;"> and the </span><a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/category/organizations/freedom-federation-0" style="line-height: 20.4px;">Freedom Federation</a><span style="line-height: 20.4px;">. Among the major themes of the conference were the threat posed by Islamic extremism and the need for Christians to unite in resistance to the Supreme Court&rsquo;s marriage equality ruling.</span></p>
<p>The conference opened with a video from <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/category/people/franklin-graham">Franklin Graham</a>, who is in the midst of a <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-only-one-election-left-save-america-godless-secularists">50-state &ldquo;Decision America&rdquo; tour</a>. Graham said he had no hope for the Democratic Party, adding:</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">Before you Republicans out there start high-fiving each other, I don&rsquo;t have any hope in the Republican Party. The only hope that I have is for Almighty God. We&rsquo;ve got to get God back into the political process of our country.</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">We need God. We have become secular. And secularism and communism, you know, there&rsquo;s no difference. Both are godless. And that&rsquo;s what we have accepted and adopted the last few years is a secular form of government. And we&rsquo;ve taken God out. And so our country is in trouble&hellip;</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">Pray that God would touch the hearts of men and women across this country to run for political office. We need Christian men and women to run, not just for president, or Senate or Congress. But think how important local elections are. We need Christian men and women running for mayors across this country. Just think of America if the majority of mayors of America were born-again evangelical Christians. Just think of the impact it would have&hellip;</p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;">&nbsp;</p>
Peter MontgomeryAwakening 2016Franklin Graham Liberty Counsel Freedom FederationFighting the Right70306Mon, 07 Mar 2016 13:32:32 -0500Franklin Graham Franklin Graham Boycotts Girl Scouts Cookies As Part Of Anti-LGBT Crusadehttp://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-boycotts-girl-scouts-cookies-part-anti-lgbt-crusade
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="720" height="366" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_images/franklin-graham.jpg?1436365948" />
<p>Franklin Graham is joining other <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/beware-lesbian-abortion-cookies-rights-history-boycotting-girl-scout-cookies">Religious Right</a> <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/kevin-swanson-begs-you-not-buy-communist-lesbian-girl-scout-cookies">activists</a> in calling for a boycott of Girl Scout cookies, with the conservative pastor attacking the young women&rsquo;s organization on his <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FranklinGraham/posts/1103421136380733">Facebook page</a> today over its stance on LGBT issues.</p>
<p>Hailing the Roman Catholic archbishop of St. Louis who <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/02/26/st-louis-archbishop-voices-opposition-to-girl-scouts.html">penned a letter</a> denouncing the Girl Scouts, Graham similarly took issue with the group&rsquo;s welcoming stance and said he &ldquo;won&rsquo;t be buying any Girl Scout cookies this year.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Other conservative leaders have, in the past, <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/beware-lesbian-abortion-cookies-rights-history-boycotting-girl-scout-cookies">shared Graham&rsquo;s contempt for the Girl Scouts</a>, warning that the group <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/kevin-swanson-girl-scouts-turn-girls-lesbians-and-i-dont-want-my-little-girl-turning-lesbian">turns girls into lesbians</a> and <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/kevin-swanson-begs-you-not-buy-communist-lesbian-girl-scout-cookies">communists</a>.</p>
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<p>The Girl Scouts organization sure isn&rsquo;t what it used to be! St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson isn&rsquo;t worried about...</p>
Posted by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FranklinGraham/">Franklin Graham</a> on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/FranklinGraham/posts/1103421136380733">Tuesday, March 1, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Brian TashmanAnti-GayC4Franklin Graham Fighting the Right70016Tue, 01 Mar 2016 11:00:39 -0500Franklin Graham Franklin Graham: 'Only One Election Left' To Save America From Godless Secularistshttp://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-only-one-election-left-save-america-godless-secularists
<p>At the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB4xL4w6XAU">Tallahassee, Florida, stop</a> of his <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-christians-must-take-over-every-mayorship-country-stop-evil-lgbt-rights"> 50-state &ldquo;Decision America&rdquo; tour </a> last month, evangelist Franklin Graham declared that such prayer gatherings may soon become illegal if conservative Christians don&rsquo;t defeat &ldquo;secularism&rdquo; in the next election.</p>
<p align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DP3PIn5tyUs" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>Declaring that &ldquo;America is being stripped of its biblical heritage and God-inspired foundations,&rdquo; Graham said that although Americans were relieved by the fall of communism, &ldquo;then secularism came and it infiltrated and it infected our government.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Secularism and communism, there&rsquo;s no difference,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re both exactly the same, they&rsquo;re both godless. And the Enemy came in and didn&rsquo;t even have to fire a shot, and he&rsquo;s already got control.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The secularists, he claimed, want to prevent people from praying anywhere other than inside a church, so that &ldquo;having a service like this in a few years could be illegal.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;America needs the Christian vote,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You see, it&rsquo;s not that the enemy is at the gate. They&rsquo;ve come through the gate because we&rsquo;ve left the gates wide open and we have allowed our moral walls to deteriorate and fall down.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Ladies and gentlemen, we&rsquo;ve got maybe one election left,&rdquo; he declared. &ldquo;And I&rsquo;ve been told by people who know that the game will be over. And I&rsquo;m telling you right now, we&rsquo;re very close to losing.&rdquo;</p>
Miranda BlueC4Election 2016Franklin Graham Fighting the Right69116Fri, 12 Feb 2016 14:00:43 -0500Franklin Graham Franklin Graham: Christians Must Take Over Every Mayorship In The Country To Stop 'Evil' LGBT Rightshttp://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-christians-must-take-over-every-mayorship-country-stop-evil-lgbt-rights
<p>Franklin Graham is <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-save-america-right-wing-prayer-rallies-all-50-states-2016-election"> visiting every state in the country </a> this year as part of his &ldquo;Decision America&rdquo; tour, in which he is offering technically nonpartisan encouragement to his followers to &ldquo;<a href="https://decisionamericatour.com/">live out their faith</a>&rdquo; in the upcoming elections.</p>
<p>At a stop in Atlanta this week, Graham <a href="https://vimeo.com/155043873">spoke </a>about the need for conservative Christians to not only vote, but to run for office, saying that if every city in America had a Christian mayor, we wouldn&rsquo;t have &ldquo;evil&rdquo; and &ldquo;wicked&rdquo; policies like LGBT nondiscrimination measures. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsk7RNgaHuI">Better Georgia</a> first brought the remarks to our attention.</p>
<p align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DR91oc1PEjU" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>&ldquo;Can you imagine the impact if every community and every city across this great land of ours was run by Christian men and women in that office as mayor,&rdquo; he asked, &ldquo;the difference that that would make in our cities, if we had Christian mayors?&rdquo;</p>
<p>Graham brought up Charlotte, North Carolina, where he claimed that &ldquo;90 percent of Christians&rdquo; failed to vote, allowing a candidate who is supportive of LGBT rights to be elected. Charlotte&rsquo;s city council <a href="http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article54564835.html">rejected</a> an LGBT nondiscrimination measure last year after opponents fixated on transgender people using the bathroom of their choice, a new flashpoint of anti-LGBT activists.</p>
<p>&ldquo;And we got a woman and her goal is the gay-lesbian agenda,&rdquo; Graham said, &ldquo;trying to get transgenders into the bathrooms so that if a person wakes up in the morning and they feel like they&rsquo;re a woman that&rsquo;s a man and he wants to go into a ladies&rsquo; restroom then they can do that. And that&rsquo;s her goal. And I can tell you right now that that&rsquo;s wicked and that&rsquo;s evil. Men belong in men&rsquo;s bathrooms and women belong in women&rsquo;s bathrooms and we don&rsquo;t need men and predators going into women&rsquo;s bathrooms, I&rsquo;m just telling you.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Now, that&rsquo;s what happens when Christians don&rsquo;t vote,&rdquo; he declared. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what we get, this is the kind of garbage we get.&rdquo;</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 20.4px;">Of course, not all Christians&nbsp;&mdash; and not all Christian mayors&nbsp;</span><span style="line-height: 20.4px;">&mdash; agree with Graham on LGBT rights.</span></p>
Miranda BlueAnti-GayC4Franklin Graham transgender rightsFighting the Right69096Fri, 12 Feb 2016 11:37:09 -0500Franklin Graham Right Wing Bonus Tracks - 2/9/16http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/right-wing-bonus-tracks-2916
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="390" height="250" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_rww/Bonus_Trax2.jpg?1400622005" />
<ul> <li> Franklin Graham <a href="http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2016/02/08/franklin-graham-same-sex-marriage-a-major-failure-of-our-nation/">says</a> that gay marriage is "just the beginning of a moral onslaught on this nation."</li> <p> <li> Phyllis Schlafly <a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/phyllisschlafly/2016/02/09/republicans-debate-should-women-be-drafted-n2116615/page/2">explains </a>that women should not have to register for the Selective Service because when she heard a noise downstairs,&nbsp;"my husband did the manly thing and went downstairs himself."</li> <p> <li> Tony Perkins <a href="http://patriotpost.us/opinion/40544">says </a>"sexual experimentation" in the military means that our the "very survival our republic is in question."</li> <p> <li> Donald Trump <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/268728-trump-plays-word-association-hillary-clinton-evil">says</a> that Hillary Clinton is "in a certain way, evil."</li> <p> <li> Finally, impress your friends and neighbors with <a href="http://patriotdepot.com/god-made-the-rainbow-t-shirt/">this classy </a>"God made the rainbow " t-shirt: "It's time to take back the rainbow!&nbsp; God created it the rainbow as a sign to remind us of his goodness and mercy to a sinful world.&nbsp; So why have we let the homosexual community take over this beautiful symbol of God's love?&nbsp; Join us in spreading this message: no matter who uses it or claims it, God made it and it still belongs to Him!"&nbsp;</li></ul>Kyle MantylaFranklin Graham LeftoversTony Perkins 68931Tue, 09 Feb 2016 17:30:32 -0500Franklin Graham Right Wing Bonus Tracks - 2/5/16http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/right-wing-bonus-tracks-2516
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="390" height="250" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_rww/Bonus_Trax2.jpg?1400622005" />
<ul> <li> Franklin Graham is predicatbly unimpressed by President Obama's visit to a mosque <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FranklinGraham/posts/1088660594523454">because</a> "Islam cannot save anyone from Hell or open the gates of Heaven."</li> <p> <li> Anti-choice activists are <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/drop-the-charges-against-pro-life-investigators-or-face-ethics-charges-your">threatening</a> to file ethics charges against the DA who indicted David Daleiden if she doesn&rsquo;t drop the charges.</li> <p> <li> Some typically <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/02/03/geller-the-terror-vote/">reasonable analysis</a> from Pamela Geller: "It is no surprise that close to 70% of the Muslims surveyed will register Democrat, as the Democratic Party is the party of treason."</li> <p> <li> Todd Starnes <a href="http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/american-dispatch/54946-why-politicians-pundits-and-press-hate-ted-cruz">says</a> the "establishment" hates Ted Cruz because he&rsquo;s "been a man of his word."</li> <p> <li> Jake MacAulay <a href="http://www.theamericanview.com/despite-clinton-secrets-you-can-vote-for-good/">warns</a> that if you vote for a candidate who won&rsquo;t follow "God&rsquo;s law," "you will stand before God and be judged for your failure to obey Him."</li> <p> <li> Bryan Fischer <a href="http://www.afa.net/the-stand/election/2016/02/electing-a-president-who-will-promote-revival/">likes</a> Ted Cruz because he will "provide statesmanlike leadership for spiritual renewal" if elected president.</li> <p> <li> Finally, FRC <a href="http://blog.call2fall.com/2016/02/prayer-targets-graham-tour-elections-obamacare-abortion-pastors-prayer-in-florida/">prays</a> that conservative Christians will swing the election: "If the hostility toward Christians and the loss of religious liberty we have seen during the past eight years continues, we will see wholesale persecution of Christians in America in the not-too-distant future. If the church does not take a stand in an important election such as we now face, will it stand when jobs and careers are on the line because of the deeply held beliefs of its members? Will it stand when obedience to Christ requires disobedience to civil and other authorities who are commanding obedience to immoral policies, ordinances and laws? May this loss of religious liberty and the hostility toward Christians motivate each of us to pray and act in 2016 as never before!"&nbsp;</li></ul>Kyle MantylaFranklin Graham LeftoversPamela Geller68781Fri, 05 Feb 2016 17:30:39 -0500Franklin Graham Franklin Graham Warns Christians To Keep Gays Away From Their Kids And Churcheshttp://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-warns-christians-keep-gays-away-their-kids-and-churches
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="800" height="500" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_rww/franklin-graham_800x500.jpg?1453225499" />
<p>Last year, Franklin Graham <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DrJamesDobsonsFamilyTalk/posts/10152973656131735">joined</a> James Dobson at an event in Colorado where the two warned against allowing gay people into churches because, according to Graham, they are representatives of "the Enemy" who wants to "devour our homes" and "devour this nation."</p>
<p align="center"><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/242753540&color=ff0000&auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe></p>
<p>On his radio program <a href="http://drjamesdobson.org/Broadcasts/Broadcast?i=a3d573e3-9c9c-498a-860b-9c0d6f08ef3a">today</a>, Dobson played excerpts from his discussion with Graham at the event, in which called for Christians to keep their kids away from gay people and to take over school boards across the nation in order to remove gay-friendly programs.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"We have allowed the Enemy to come into our churches," Graham said. "I was talking to some Christians and they were talking about how they invited these gay children to come into their home and to come into the church and that they were wanting to influence them. And I thought to myself, they're not going to influence those kids; those kids are going to influence those parent's children."</p>
<p>"What happens is we think we can fight by smiling and being real nice and loving," he continued. "We have to understand who the Enemy is and what he wants to do. He wants to devour our homes. He wants to devour this nation and we have to be so careful who we let our kids hang out with. We have to be so careful who we let into the churches. You have immoral people who get into the churches and it begins to effect the others in the church and it is dangerous."</p>
<p>Graham then went on to lament that "homosexuality is taught to be okay" in schools and "that is why I want to get the school boards back" before insisting that he loves gays and therefore feels obligated to tell them that "you cannot stay gay and call yourself a Christian."</p>
<p>That eventually promoted Dobson to rail against the entire LGBT agenda by <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/james-dobson-does-not-understand-bisexuality-thats-orgies">once again</a>&nbsp;absurdly misunderstanding bisexuality.</p>
<p>"You know what the 'B' stand for?" Dobson asked. "Bisexual. That's orgies! That is lots of sex with lots of people!"</p>
Kyle MantylaAnti-GayFranklin Graham James Dobson C3Family TalkFighting the Right67961Tue, 19 Jan 2016 12:31:49 -0500Franklin Graham Right Wing Bonus Tracks - 12/16/15http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/right-wing-bonus-tracks-121615
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="390" height="250" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_rww/Bonus_Trax2.jpg?1400622005" />
<ul> <li> Franklin Graham <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FranklinGraham/videos/vb.131201286936061/1057915277597986/?type=2&theater">says</a>&nbsp;conservative Christians must "get out and vote" in 2016 and "elect candidates at all levels that most closely support biblical values and principles" because "this may be the most important election in our nation&rsquo;s history."</li> <p> <li> Alan Keyes is <a href="http://barbwire.com/2015/12/16/with-trumps-tar-baby-promises-americans-will-be-stuck-with-tyranny/">not a fan</a> of Donald Trump.</li> <p> <li> Rafael Cruz, father of GOP presidential hopeful Ted Cruz, will soon be <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/secret-weapon-ted-cruzs-dad-urges-christians-to-get-political-in-new-book/article/2578506#.VnGXAZTN11Q.twitter">releasing a new book</a> "urging people of faith to get involved in politics," presumably by voting for his son.</li> <p> <li> Steve Deace has half-heartedly <a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/12/16/iowa-cruz-backer-steve-deace-apologizes-for-full-vagina-tweet/77410918/">apologized</a> for slamming Carly Fiorina for going "full vagina" during last night's GOP debate.</li> <p> <li> Finally, Linda Harvey <a href="http://www.wnd.com/2015/12/religious-liberty-only-for-muslims/#KgHhmQvEqVbYcX3k.99">says</a> that Christians must continue to fight gay marriage: "It's a moral imperative to refuse to honor such immorality. Christians especially have not just a right, but a duty to our children and grandchildren to lawfully resist this deviance in America."</li></ul>
Kyle MantylaFranklin Graham LeftoversLinda Harvey Steve Deace66856Wed, 16 Dec 2015 17:31:15 -0500Franklin Graham Twisted: The Far-Right's Disgraceful Reaction To The Sandy Hook Massacrehttp://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/twisted-far-rights-disgraceful-reaction-sandy-hook-massacre
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="590" height="378" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_images/antiguns.jpg?1450120722" />
<p>Last month, Donald Trump appeared on &ldquo;The Alex Jones Show,&rdquo; where he told the right-wing pundit that he has an &ldquo;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/donald-trump-tells-alex-jones-your-reputation-amazing" id="LPlnk406914">amazing</a>&rdquo; reputation, unlike other journalists, whom Trump <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/258057-trump-the-media-is-scum">commonly</a> <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/262400-trump-media-is-scum">refers</a> to as &ldquo;scum.&rdquo; Among Jones&rsquo; many wild conspiracy theories is his belief that the massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which took place three years ago today, was &ldquo;<a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/04/15/alex-jones-on-boston-blasts-us-govt-is-prime-su/193635">staged</a>&rdquo; by the Obama administration.</p>
<p>Trump has not faced any criticism from his fellow Republicans for going on Jones&rsquo; program or for touting his work, despite the fact that Jones has been instrumental in pushing the harmful Sandy Hook conspiracy theory.</p>
<p>A 2013 Fairleigh Dickinson University <a href="http://publicmind.fdu.edu/2013/guncontrol/">poll</a> found that &ldquo;a quarter (25%) of Americans think that facts about the shootings at Sandy Hook elementary last year are being hidden and an additional eleven percent are unsure&rdquo; and that &ldquo;Republicans are more likely to think that the truth about Sandy Hook is being suppressed, with 32 percent agreeing.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Sandy Hook truthers, who largely believe that the attack was faked as part of a government plot to push strict gun laws, are not alone in delivering twisted responses to the mass shooting. Others have used the massacre to attack gay marriage, the separation of church and state and, of course, gun laws.</p>
<p><strong>The Truthers</strong></p>
<p>WorldNetDaily columnist Erik Rush <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/worldnetdaily-pundit-suggests-obama-administration-behind-mass-shootings">said</a> that Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza &ldquo;positively reeked of what intelligence operatives I know would call the tell-tale signs of recruitment and conditioning,&rdquo; and wondered if Lanza was the target of a government scheme to recruit &ldquo;vulnerable individuals for psyops&rdquo; to advance &ldquo;their diabolical agenda.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Renew America&rsquo;s Austin Miles similarly suggested that the massacre was &ldquo;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fringe-pastor-obama-will-declare-himself-president-life-take-all-guns">purposely orchestrated</a>&rdquo; to &ldquo;disarm all Americans to retard resistance,&rdquo; writing that Lanza and others were &ldquo;brainwashed into carrying out such deeds that would prove a point about private gun ownership and the threat to all families as a result.&rdquo; Then, he said, there would be no opposition to Obama using an &ldquo;Executive Order to declare himself president (dictator) for life.&rdquo; Fellow Renew America pundit, Laurie Roth, <a href="http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/roth/130423">claimed</a> Obama &ldquo;staged&rdquo; the attack because he&rsquo;s on a &ldquo;mission to take assault weapons from the people.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Radio host Rick Wiles <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rick-wiles-columbine-and-sandy-hook-were-carried-out-mk-ultra-mind-control-assassins">stated</a> that &ldquo;Sandy Hook was timed to coincide with the political agenda of the socialist Democrats such as Barry Soetoro [Obama], Chuckie Schumer, and Dianne Feinstein to pass stringent federal gun control laws,&rdquo; alleging that &ldquo;the shooting event was timed to coincide with the gun control initiative.&rdquo; Another conservative radio host, Bradlee Dean, <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/close-bachmann-ally-bradlee-dean-suggests-sandy-hook-was-government-plot">likened</a> the Sandy Hook killings to Adolf Hitler &ldquo;attacking his own Reichstag to start a world war&rdquo; and said that it was orchestrated to pass an arms control treaty.</p>
<p>The Tea Party-aligned National Liberty Foundation <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/paranoia-rama-satans-gay-graham-crackers-obamas-illegal-alien-hordes-communist-states-americ">insisted</a> that the &ldquo;staged&rdquo; massacre showed just &ldquo;how far your president went to get your guns&rdquo;: &ldquo;He wants to be a dictator, he doesn&rsquo;t want to get out of the White House and he loves spending your money.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Many of their assertions relied heavily on discredited claims that &ldquo;<a href="http://www.snopes.com/same-girl-crying-now-oregon/">crisis actors</a>&rdquo; posed as grieving family members at the school and that one of the young victims later met with President Obama (she didn&rsquo;t, it was her <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/01/18/your_comprehensive_answer_to_every_sandy_hook_conspiracy_theory/">little sister</a>).</p>
<p>One Republican congressman, Louie Gohmert, however, <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/louie-gohmert-thanks-sandy-hook-truther-pledges-watch-conspiracy-theory-video">told a fan</a> of his that he would watch a Sandy Hook conspiracy theory video because he&rsquo;s &ldquo;always learning new things.&rdquo;</p>
<p align="center"><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/160822834&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe></p>
<p><strong>Religious Right&rsquo;s Reaction</strong></p>
<p>Several Religious Right activists responded to the Sandy Hook shooting by warning that the massacre was a sign that God is no longer protecting America, removing his hand of protection due to supposed societal ills such as gay marriage, abortion rights and the separation of church and state.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Millions of people have decided that God doesn&rsquo;t exist, or he&rsquo;s irrelevant to me and we have killed 54 million babies and the institution of marriage is right on the verge of a complete redefinition,&rdquo; Focus on the Family founder James Dobson <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/dobson-connecticut-shooting-was-god-allowing-judgment-fall-upon-us-turning-our-back-him">lamented</a>. &ldquo;Believe me, that is going to have consequences too. And a lot of these things are happening around us, and somebody is going to get mad at me for saying what I am about to say right now, but I am going to give you my honest opinion: I think we have turned our back on the Scripture and on God Almighty and I think he has allowed judgment to fall upon us.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve taken God our of our school, we&rsquo;ve taken him out of our government and now we seem shocked at all of these things,&rdquo; Franklin Graham <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-sandy-hook-what-happens-when-society-turns-its-back-god">stated</a> following the attack. &ldquo;Why are we shocked? We shouldn&rsquo;t be shocked. This is what happens when a society turns its back on God.&rdquo; Author Joel Rosenberg <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/joel-rosenberg-ties-jon-stewart-ct-school-shooting">said</a> the shooting was one of the tragedies America is &ldquo;reaping as a result of a society that increasingly ignores God,&rdquo; specifically blaming comedian Jon Stewart for waging a &ldquo;war on Christmas&rdquo; and mocking conservatives.</p>
<p>Before winning his race for Congress, Georgia Republican Jody Hice said the shooting was a consequence of &ldquo;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/7-outrageous-rants-gop-house-candidate-jody-hice-blood-moons-sandy-hook-women-and-judicial-t">kicking God out of the public square</a>.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Mike Huckabee <a href="http://mediamatters.org/video/2012/12/14/huckabee-schools-become-a-place-of-carnage-when/191864">blamed</a> the Sandy Hook massacre on those who have tried to &ldquo;systematically removed God from our schools,&rdquo; turning schools into &ldquo;a place of carnage.&rdquo; He claimed that school shootings would be a thing of the past if only schools <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/mike-huckabee-chapel-services-public-schools-will-end-school-shootings"> started organizing chapel services for students </a> and the government stopped ordering employers to &ldquo;<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/12/17/1344001/huckabee-blames-tax-funded-abortion-pills-for-newtown-massacre/" title="http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/12/17/1344001/huckabee-blames-tax-funded-abortion-pills-for-newtown-massacre/
Ctrl+Click or tap to follow the link">provide tax-funded abortion pills</a>.&rdquo;</p>
<p>One pastor&nbsp;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/pastor-school-shooting-gracious-judgment">said</a> that a &ldquo;gracious,&rdquo; &ldquo;merciful&rdquo; and &ldquo;loving&rdquo; God decided not to intervene to prevent the shooting because it would &ldquo;bring us back to our senses&rdquo; and make people realize that God&rsquo;s judgment &ldquo;has really come by our turning away from the Lord.&rdquo; Bryan Fischer of American Family Radio specifically blamed&nbsp;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/bryan-fischer-god-let-sandy-hook-shooting-happen-because-legal-abortion">legal abortion</a> and the <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fischer-sandy-hook-shooting-proof-americas-moral-capital-has-run-out">lack of</a> <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fischer-god-didnt-stop-ct-school-shooting-because-hes-gentleman-who-doesnt-go-where-he-not-w"> state-sponsored prayer </a> for the attack, stating that God is a &ldquo;gentleman&rdquo; who &ldquo;is not going to go where he is not wanted.&rdquo;</p>
<p align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/is2x7QTZ8AI?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p><strong>Blocking background checks</strong></p>
<p>Ted Cruz has <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/cruz-mocks-his-gop-colleagues-calls-newtown-families-props-and-takes-credit-blocking-backgro"> proudly boasted </a> of his role in successfully blocking a bipartisan Senate measure to expand background checks on gun purchases following the school shooting, bragging that unlike Republican &ldquo;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/cruz-mocks-his-gop-colleagues-calls-newtown-families-props-and-takes-credit-blocking-backgro">squishes</a>,&rdquo; he stood firm in opposing universal background checks. The Sandy Hook-affected families who supported the efforts, he said, were being used as &ldquo;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/cruz-mocks-his-gop-colleagues-calls-newtown-families-props-and-takes-credit-blocking-backgro">political props</a>.&rdquo;</p>
<p>One of the main organizations that <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/ted-cruz-boasts-endorsement-radical-gun-group">worked with Cruz</a> in fighting the effort, <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/ted-cruz-raises-money-radical-gun-group-fight-obamas-left-wing-hatred-your-liberty"> Gun Owners of America</a>, pushed fears that the background checks could lead to <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/gun-owners-america-background-checks-may-lead-genocide">gun confiscation, tyranny and genocide</a>. The group&rsquo;s executive director, Larry Pratt, said liberals &ldquo;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/larry-pratt-liberals-privately-rejoice-mass-shootings-sandy-hook">rejoice</a>&rdquo; following events like Sandy Hook, as they &ldquo;immediately start shedding their crocodile tears, pushing for more gun control,&rdquo; and, possibly, martial law.</p>
<p>National Rifle Association board member and musician Ted Nugent <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/ted-nugent-blames-ct-shooting-politically-correct-culture">blamed</a> the shooting on America&rsquo;s &ldquo;politically correct culture&rdquo; and &ldquo;&lsquo;anything goes&rsquo; value system&rdquo; which &ldquo;vilifies, condemns and mocks traditional societal values and customs at every opportunity,&rdquo; while NRA executive director Wayne LaPierre delivered an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lgu9f-qd_Uo">unhinged speech</a> against gun control measures, lashing out at the group&rsquo;s critics, the entertainment industry, video games, the media and a lack of guns in schools.</p>
<p align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lgu9f-qd_Uo?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>But while nearly <a href="http://thehill.com/regulation/251037-poll-shows-bipartisan-support-for-expanding-background-checks">nine out of 10</a> Americans, including <a href="http://thehill.com/regulation/251037-poll-shows-bipartisan-support-for-expanding-background-checks">nine out of 10</a> gun owners, support more background checks, Republican lawmakers care more about the support they receive from groups like the NRA, and have done next to nothing to tackle the issue of gun violence in the wake of tragedies like Sandy Hook.</p>
<p>Instead, Republicans claimed that the government should focus on mental health and then<a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/20/the-great-gop-mental-health-hypocrisy.html">tried</a> to <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/12/18/1349891/republicans-block-alternatives-gun-control/">block</a> access to mental health services.</p>
<p>Few if any of the GOP presidential candidates are <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/presidential-campaign/256250-republican-mental-health-excuse-on-guns">offering</a> any meaningful gun reform proposals, outside of their unwavering dogma: More guns.</p>
Brian TashmanAlex JonesC4Franklin Graham Gun Owners Associationgun violencegun violence preventionJames Dobson Larry PrattMike Huckabee NRARick WilesSecond AmendmentTed CruzTed NugentWayne LaPierreErik RushFighting the RightBradlee DeanBryan Fischer66676Mon, 14 Dec 2015 14:20:22 -0500Franklin Graham Right Wing Bonus Tracks - 12/9/15http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/right-wing-bonus-tracks-12915-0
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="390" height="250" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_rww/Bonus_Trax2.jpg?1400622005" />
<ul>
<li>
No one should be surprised that <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-12-09/bloomberg-politics-poll-trump-muslim-ban-proposal">a majority of Republican voters</a> agree with Donald Trump on prohibiting Muslim immigration.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
Franklin Graham <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FranklinGraham/posts/1055176477871866">prays that God</a> will open the eyes of leaders who dare to disagree with Trump&rsquo;s Muslim immigration ban.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
Meanwhile, Jeb Bush thinks that Trump is &ldquo;<a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/jeb-bush-trump-other-version-barack-obama-n477131?cid=sm_tw">the other version</a>&rdquo; of Barack Obama.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
Bob O&rsquo;Dell of WorldNetDaily <a href="http://www.wnd.com/2015/12/did-the-shemitah-predict-recent-terrorism/">says the San Bernardino shooting</a> was proof that the September 13, 2015 <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/september-doomsday-bust-prophets-blow-claims-about-series-calamities">doomsday</a> <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/jonathan-cahn-blows-september-13-doomsday-prophecy-finds-convenient-explanation">prophecy</a> came true.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
Mission America&rsquo;s Linda Harvey claims Planned Parenthood and the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network are &ldquo;using children as change agents&rdquo; and acting as &ldquo;<a href="http://www.wnd.com/2015/12/the-accelerating-sexual-war-on-children/">their escort service into hell</a>.&rdquo;</li>
</ul>
Brian TashmanC4Franklin Graham LeftoversLinda Harvey WorldNetDaily Donald TrumpFighting the Right66496Wed, 09 Dec 2015 17:25:18 -0500Franklin Graham Franklin Graham Praises 'Gay Propaganda' Law, Critizes US 'Secularism' In Russia Visithttp://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-praises-gay-propaganda-law-critizes-us-secularism-russia-visit
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="1200" height="799" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_rww/graham%20kirill.jpg?1446482114" />
<p>In a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FranklinGraham/posts/1032519610137553">trip to Russia last week</a>, U.S. Religious Right leader Franklin Graham praised President Vladimir Putin&rsquo;s protection of &ldquo;traditional Christianity,&rdquo; including the passage of the 2013 &ldquo;<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/29/lgbt-yelena-klimova-fined-russia-gay-propaganda-laws">gay propaganda</a>&rdquo; law that effectively criminalizes pro-gay-rights speech and advocacy.</p>
<p>In an <a href="http://www.mk.ru/social/2015/10/30/evangelist-franklin-grem-prezident-obama-vedet-ameriku-nepravilnym-putem.html"> interview with the Moskoviskij Komsomolets newspaper</a>, Graham criticized President Obama for supporting &ldquo;policies that contradict the teachings of God&rdquo; and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2014/03/19/franklin-graham-putin-is-better-than-obama-on-gay-rights/">repeated his praise</a> of Putin for &ldquo;protecting Russian young people against homosexual propaganda,&rdquo; adding that &ldquo;homosexuals cannot have children, they can take other people&rsquo;s children,&rdquo; according to a transcript the newspaper provided of the interview:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>I heard that you called Barack Obama &lsquo;the leader of the antichrist movement.&rsquo; Is that true? What do you think about the current president of the United States?</strong></p>
<p>I have met the president on several occasions. He&rsquo;s a very nice person. But he supports and promotes policies that contradict the teachings of God. As a Christian I believe that abortion is murder, he supports it. Homosexuality and same-sex marriage &mdash; those are sins against God, and the president is promoting them. I&rsquo;m not against homosexuals as people. But God commanded that marriage should be between a man and a woman. And I very much appreciate that President Putin is protecting Russian young people against homosexual propaganda. If only to give them the opportunity to grow up and make a decision for themselves. Again, homosexuals cannot have children, they can take other people&rsquo;s children. I believe that President Obama (and I&rsquo;ll repeat, he&rsquo;s a very nice person) is leading America down the wrong road. He&rsquo;s taking a stand against God.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the same interview, Graham reportedly hailed Putin for his actions in Syria, where Russia has been <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/02/us-mideast-syria-players-insight-idUSKCN0RW1VE20151002">targeting rebels supported by the U.S.</a> and <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/10/01/444953234/syrian-opposition-says-russian-airstrikes-arent-targeting-isis"> largely ignoring ISIS</a>, saying, "I think that Russia&rsquo;s involvement in this situation will bring about a political solution to the crisis."</p>
<p>Graham echoed the messaging of Putin, who as the Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/10/01/the-christian-zeal-behind-russias-war-in-syria/">notes</a>, &ldquo;has anchored his political brand in religious nationalism, centered on the Russian Orthodox Church,&rdquo; telling the paper that as Americans have been &ldquo;losing many religious freedoms,&rdquo; there have been &ldquo;positive changes&rdquo; in that area in Russia.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[T]he situation in the US regarding religion is in decline. Secularism, which is almost no different from communism, is an atheistic movement. Our country is becoming more and more secular, more atheist, taking God out of government, taking God out of schools. We are witnessing America losing many religious freedoms. In your country over the past 30 years, we have seen positive changes. But over this same period of time in the US, the changes have been negative.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In a <a href="https://mospat.ru/ru/2015/10/28/news124369/">meeting with Patriarch Kirill</a>, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, which was&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ntv.ru/novosti/1557448/">widely reported</a> in the Russian news media, Graham <a href="http://www.pravda.ru/news/world/28-10-2015/1280023-putin-0/">reportedly told</a> the Orthodox primate: &ldquo;When I was a young man, we worried that the world would become atheist under the influence of communism, but while communism fell, atheism didn&rsquo;t go anywhere. Unfortunately my own president promotes atheism &hellip; I spoke about this with President Obama, but he did not understand. Unfortunately he does not have a Christian worldview.&rdquo;</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.ntv.ru/novosti/1557448/">another report</a>, Graham told Patriarch Kirill, &ldquo;Many churches in America have started to support homosexuality. This is terrible, it&rsquo;s a sin and it&rsquo;s against God.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I call for prayers for the president of Russia, who is protecting traditional Christianity,&rdquo; <a href="http://www.gazeta.ru/social/news/2015/10/28/n_7824239.shtml">Graham reportedly said.</a></p>
<p>Graham <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_6227QzUXc">took part in a forum</a> on &ldquo;religion and peace&rdquo; with a number of religious leaders, and Graham and Patriarch Kirill <a href="http://en.news-4-u.ru/the-roc-and-franklin-graham-will-hold-in-moscow-the-forum-in-defense-of-christians.html">announced their plans</a> to organize an international conference on Christian persecution in the Middle East.</p>
Miranda BlueAnti-GayC4Franklin Graham InternationalRussiaFighting the Right64661Mon, 02 Nov 2015 11:45:40 -0500Franklin Graham Right Wing Bonus Tracks - 10/9/15http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/right-wing-bonus-tracks-10915
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="390" height="250" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_rww/Bonus_Trax2.jpg?1400622005" />
<ul> <li> Yesterday, Glenn Beck <a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/10/08/glenn-beck-offers-these-eight-words-when-asked-about-donald-trump-calling-him-a-real-nut-job/">said</a> that it was "beneath me to respond" to Donald Trump mocking him on Twitter so, of course, he spent <a href="https://soundcloud.com/glennbeck/beck-blitz-donald-trump-vs-glenn-beck">ten minutes</a> responding to it on his radio program today.</li> <p> <li> Phyllis Schlafly <a href="http://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/nb-staff/2015/10/09/conservative-icon-phyllis-schlafly-wins-mrc-galas-buckley-award">received</a> the "William F. Buckley Jr. Award for Media Excellence" at the 2015 Media Research Center Gala last night.</li> <p> <li> Bethany Blankley <a href="http://barbwire.com/2015/10/09/meet-the-46-u-s-senators-guilty-of-treason/">names</a> the 46 senators who "should be tried for treason."</li> <p> <li> Jonathan Cahn <a href="http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/watchman-on-the-wall/52536-is-the-11-trillion-market-loss-tied-to-the-shemitah-cycle">continues</a> to promote his failed Shemitah theory while also laughably hedging his bets: "In a good amount of the last seven Shemitahs, the market collapse continues past the Shemitah's end date, the Hebrew Elul 29, and into the subsequent autumn. In some others, it doesn't."&nbsp;</li> <p> <li> Finally, Franklin Graham is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FranklinGraham/posts/1021553571234157">upset</a> about the removal of a Ten Commandments monument from outside the Oklahoma capitol: "We have been appalled at news reports of ISIS and the Islamic State tearing down all symbols of Christianity in the Middle East; but think about it&mdash;we&rsquo;re doing it to ourselves here in the U.S. Atheists, activists, and anti-God groups like the ACLU, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and the Military Freedom of Religion Foundation are on a quest to erase or tear down anything associated with the Name of Jesus Christ."</li></ul>
Kyle MantylaFranklin Graham LeftoversGlenn BeckBethany Blankley63656Fri, 09 Oct 2015 16:30:13 -0500Franklin Graham Right Wing Bonus Tracks - 10/5/15http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/right-wing-bonus-tracks-10515
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="390" height="250" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_rww/Bonus_Trax2.jpg?1400622005" />
<ul> <li> Anti-choice activists are <a href="http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/8767376814.html">organizing</a> a "second round of public protests of Planned Parenthood abortion clinics and facilities [to] take place across the United States" on Saturday.</li> <p> <li> The Pacific Justice Institute <a href="http://www.onenewsnow.com/culture/2015/10/05/woman-the-bad-guy-when-a-man-goes-where-he-doesnt-belong">continues</a> its long tradition of whipping up anti-transgender bigotry.</li> <p> <li> Don Boys says that the solution to the problem of mass shootings in this country is <a href="http://barbwire.com/2015/10/04/roseburg-mass-shooting-the-answer-is-more-guns/">quite obvious</a>: "We need more guns in schools and society, not fewer!"</li> <p> <li> Tony Perkins <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/21afaa02e8ec4effae8baac4aba23a63/law-firm-labeled-hate-group-leading-kim-davis-crusade">hails</a> Mat Staver as a courageous legal scholar.</li> <p> <li> Finally, Franklin Graham <a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/10/05/god-will-judge-our-country-for-this-famed-preacher-goes-after-obama-for-celebrating-sin/">declares</a> that gay marriage is "so wrong" that "God will judge our country for this."</li></ul>
Kyle MantylaFranklin Graham LeftoversDon Boys63401Mon, 05 Oct 2015 16:30:41 -0500Franklin Graham Right Wing Bonus Tracks - 10/2/15http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/right-wing-bonus-tracks-10215
<img class="imagefield imagefield-field_teaser_astory" width="390" height="250" alt="" src="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/images/a_story_rww/Bonus_Trax2.jpg?1400622005" />
<ul> <li> Ben Carson is <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/e742df9709e341a58e83cdc6e4a385c0/gops-carson-goes-after-muslim-advocacy-groups-tax-status">calling upon</a> the IRS to "punish" the Council on American-Islamic Relations for supposedly violating its tax-exempt status by criticizing him. If a Democratic candidate did something like this to a Religious Right group, we'd never hear the end of them screaming about "anti-Christian persecution."</li> <p> <li> Sign up now for Peter LaBarbera's annual banquet so you can hear speakers make "<a href="http://americansfortruth.com/2015/10/02/the-case-against-sodomy-aftah-banquet-oct-17-features-making-gay-okay-author-robert-reilly/">The Case Against Sodomy</a>."</li> <p> <li> Franklin Graham <a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/10/02/evangelist-franklin-graham-doubles-down-on-call-to-stop-all-muslim-immigration-to-the-u-s-what-i-said-was-true/">stands by</a> his call to ban Muslim immigrants: "By letting Muslims come into this country at this time [there's] the potential for some of these people to turn on this nation for our kindness and our gratitude and commit murder. And it&rsquo;s not just the murder of just one or two, but it could be a large event that could take the lives of many people."</li> <p> <li> Operation Rescue's Troy Newman has lost his legal fight and will be <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-34420823">deported from Australia</a>.</li> <p> <li> Finally, NOM displays some rather poor timing by trying to <a href="http://www.nomblog.com/40763/">raise money</a> off of Pope Francis' supposed support for Kim Davis on the very same day that the Vatican <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/vatican-contradicts-liberty-counsels-claims-about-kim-davis-meeting-pope-francis">completely undermined</a> those claims.</li></ul>
Kyle MantylaBen CarsonFranklin Graham LeftoversNOM63321Fri, 02 Oct 2015 16:30:51 -0500Franklin Graham Franklin Graham: 'Middle East Is Burning' Because Obama's Too Focused On Gay Rightshttp://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-middle-east-burning-because-obamas-too-focused-gay-rights
<p>In an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWX44PqYc6c" id="LPlnk800957">interview</a> on Newsmax TV last night, Rev. Franklin Graham blamed the Syrian refugee crisis on President Obama&rsquo;s support for LGBT rights, claiming that &ldquo;the Middle East is burning&rdquo; because the Obama administration has been &ldquo;more focused&rdquo; on LGBT rights &ldquo;than anything else.&rdquo;</p>
<p align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kY_XM2jhn6A" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>Host J.D. Hayworth, a former GOP congressman, asked Graham: &ldquo;Why do you think President Obama has taken so little interest in helping to protect Christians in the Middle East?&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Well, he&rsquo;s more interested in policies that are against Christians,&rdquo; Graham responded, &ldquo;in this country, and going around the world promoting same-sex marriage and the agenda of the gay and lesbian community. And I&rsquo;m not here to bash the gays and lesbians and they certainly have rights, I understand all that, but this administration has been more focused on that agenda than anything else and as a result the Middle East is burning and you have more refugees moving today since World War II, and it could have been prevented.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Graham then praised Pope Francis for reportedly meeting privately with Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who has attempted to prevent her county office from issuing marriage licenses to gay couples, saying that Davis is a victim of discrimination simply for standing up for her view that &ldquo;homosexuality is a sin against God.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Christians need to be protected from these new laws that are coming out and discriminating against Christians and forcing Christians to do things that go against their conscience and go against the teaching of the Bible,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Again, homosexuality is a sin against God. Now, if a gay or lesbian person is watching, I&rsquo;m not here to bash you or anything like that, I&rsquo;m just here to tell you the truth, that this is what the Bible teaches.&rdquo;</p>
Miranda BlueAnti-GayC4Equality For AllFranklin Graham JD HayworthKim DavisMarriage EqualityMarriage EqualityNewsmaxreligious persecution rhetoricFighting the Right63201Thu, 01 Oct 2015 10:24:23 -0500Franklin Graham